EU court rules that limiting mass layoffs violates EU law

BRUSSELS(ANA/M. Spinthourakis) – A Greek law forcing employers to seek government approval for mass layoffs is too vague and violates European Union laws, the European Court of Justice ruled on Wednesday.

The case was brought to the European Court of Justice after Greek cement maker AGET Iraklis was prevented in 2013 from making collective redundancies by the then-government because of the economic crisis and the high levels of unemployment in the country.

The court ruled that the Greek law goes against EU rules on companies’ freedom to set up businesses in EU states.

The Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA) (Greek: Αθηναϊκό-Μακεδονικό Πρακτορείο Ειδήσεων, AΜΠΕ) is a Greece-based news service. It is a public entity anonymous company. It was founded in 2008 as the Athens News Agency - Macedonian Press Agency S.A. (ANA-MPA SA), under a presidential decree which merged the Athens News Agency (ANA SA) and the Macedonian Press Agency (MPA SA).